Definitions for tough
tʌftough

Princeton's WordNet(3.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. street fighter, tough(noun)

   someone who learned to fight in the streets rather than being formally trained in the sport of boxing

2. hood, hoodlum, goon, punk, thug, tough, toughie, strong-armer(noun)

   an aggressive and violent young criminal

3. bully, tough, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo(adj)

   a cruel and brutal fellow

4. tough(adj)

   not given to gentleness or sentimentality

   "a tough character"

5. rugged, tough(adj)

   very difficult; severely testing stamina or resolution

   "a rugged competitive examination"; "the rugged conditions of frontier life"; "the competition was tough"; "it's a tough life"; "it was a tough job"

6. tough, toughened(adj)

   physically toughened

   "the tough bottoms of his feet"

7. sturdy, tough(adj)

   substantially made or constructed

   "sturdy steel shelves"; "sturdy canvas"; "a tough all-weather fabric"; "some plastics are as tough as metal"

8. ruffianly, tough(adj)

   violent and lawless

   "the more ruffianly element"; "tough street gangs"

9. bad, tough(adj)

   feeling physical discomfort or pain (`tough' is occasionally used colloquially for `bad')

   "my throat feels bad"; "she felt bad all over"; "he was feeling tough after a restless night"

10. tough(adj)

    resistant to cutting or chewing

11. hard, tough(adj)

    unfortunate or hard to bear

    "had hard luck"; "a tough break"

12. baffling, elusive, knotty, problematic, problematical, tough(adj)

    making great mental demands; hard to comprehend or solve or believe

    "a baffling problem"; "I faced the knotty problem of what to have for breakfast"; "a problematic situation at home"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. tough(Noun)

   A person who obtains things by force; a thug or bully.

   They were doing fine until they encountered a bunch of toughs from the opposition.

2. tough(Verb)

   To endure.

3. tough(Verb)

   To toughen.

4. tough(Adjective)

   strong and resilient; sturdy

   The tent, made of tough canvas, held up to many abuses.

5. tough(Adjective)

   difficult to cut or chew

   To soften a tough cut of meat, the recipe suggested simmering it for hours.

6. tough(Adjective)

   rugged or physically hardy

   Only a tough species will survive in the desert.

7. tough(Adjective)

   Stubborn.

   He had a reputation as a tough negotiator.

8. tough(Adjective)

   harsh or severe

9. tough(Adjective)

   rowdy or rough.

   A bunch of the tough boys from the wrong side of the tracks threatened him.

10. tough(Adjective)

    difficult or demanding

    This is a tough crowd.

11. tough(Adjective)

    Undergoing plastic deformation before breaking.

Origin: From toh, from tanhuz.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tough

   having the quality of flexibility without brittleness; yielding to force without breaking; capable of resisting great strain; as, the ligaments of animals are remarkably tough

2. Tough

   not easily broken; able to endure hardship; firm; strong; as, tough sinews

3. Tough

   not easily separated; viscous; clammy; tenacious; as, tough phlegm

4. Tough

   stiff; rigid; not flexible; stubborn; as, a tough bow

5. Tough

   severe; violent; as, a tough storm

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Tough

   tuf, adj. not easily broken: firm: stiff, viscous, sticky: stubborn, hard to manage, trying: violent: tenacious: able to endure hardship.—n. a rough, a bully.—v.t. or v.i. Tough′en, to make or become tough.—adj. Tough′ish, rather tough.—adv. Tough′ly.—n. Tough′ness. [A.S. tóh; cog. with Ger. zähe.]

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tough' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #3162

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tough' in Written Corpus Frequency: #2971

3. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'tough' in Adjectives Frequency: #328

Anagrams for tough »

1. ought

How to pronounce tough?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say tough in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of tough in Chaldean Numerology is: 7

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of tough in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of tough in a Sentence

1. Chief Executive Jeffrey Smith:

   It's a tough call.

2. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani:

   I like tough partners.

3. Glen Buckley:

   It's a tough business.

4. Richard Shelby:

   It's tough but doable.

5. Jeb Bush on his trek:

   War is incredibly tough.

Images & Illustrations of tough

Popularity rank by frequency of use